Agriculture is widely distributed. Almost all of the earth's surface can be used for agricultural production except for the poles and deserts. Of the actual land area of nearly 131 million square kilometers, about 11% is arable land and perennial crop land, 24% is grassland and pasture, and 31% is forest and woodland. The sea and inland waters are the places for aquaculture production.

The distribution of agricultural natural resources is very uneven. The arable land is mainly concentrated in Asia, Europe and North America. Economically developed countries in North America, Europe and Oceania are 0.56 hectares per capita, while developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America are only 0.22 hectares, of which Asia is only 0.16 hectares (1984). The distribution area of forests in Europe and Latin America is larger; In terms of grassland area, Africa ranks first, followed by Asia; There are also great differences between different countries and regions.